Embodiments of the invention may concern a laminate floor panel comprising a mechanical locking system, formed at least at two opposite edges and with a continuous and unbroken front surface, which is at least partially light transmitting. The following description of known techniques, problems of known systems and objects and features of embodiments of the invention will above all, as a non-restrictive example, be aimed as the field of the application. It should be emphasised that embodiments of the invention may be used in any floor panel and it could be combined with all types of known locking systems, for example, where the floor panels are intended to be joined using a mechanical locking system connecting the panels in the horizontal and vertical directions on at least two adjacent sides. Embodiments of the invention may also be applicable to, for example, solid wooden floors, parquet floors with a core of wood or wood-fibre-based material and a surface of wood or wood veneer and the like, floors with a printed and preferably also varnished surface, floors with a surface layer of plastic or cork, linoleum, rubber. Even floors with hard surfaces such as stone, tile and similar may be included and floorings with soft wear layer, for example, needle felt glued to a board. The invention can also be used for building panels, which preferably contain a board material, for example, wall panels, ceilings, furniture components and similar.
It is known that an illuminated floor can be assembled of wooden panels comprising illumination devices mounted through holes of the wooden panels, for example, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,095,412.
It is also known that an illuminated floor can be achieved by panels of glass or plastic assembled above illumination devices, for example, as described in DE 200 04 992 U1.
The illuminated floor panels known up to now have several disadvantages. There are apertures and notches at the front surface, due to the broken surface, which collect dust and moisture, and which apertures also lower the impact strength and the wear resistance. Alternatively, the panels comprise a surface of plastic or glass, which is a poor material for a floor panel with low strength and wear resistance. The known floor panels are also not aesthetically pleasing since they do not look like a normal panel and therefore do not blend in to a normal floor. Another disadvantage is that the known panels are difficult to assemble and disassemble, which is of great importance for a floor panel with a lighting means, since the lighting device must be possible to repair or exchange.